


All You Need To See

by ByTheAngell (SomeLittleInfamy)



Series: Tumblr Prompts [64]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, M/M, lorenzo pov, outsider observations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 06:44:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20169880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeLittleInfamy/pseuds/ByTheAngell
Summary: Everyone who deals professionally with Alec Lightwood-Bane knows he's a force to be reckoned with but when Lorenzo catches him in an unguarded moment he's reminded that it's possible to be both - it isn't always one or the other.





	All You Need To See

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: could you write a fic where they have a downworld cabinet meeting while alec is still hoti and lorenzo is representing the warlocks and alec is all badass and then once the meeting is over magnus is waiting for alec turns into a soft gooey mess and maybe there's some pov outsider with lorenzo?

It’s brutal, Lorenzo thinks, wincing slightly to himself as Alec holds nothing back while berating Maia for her lack of resolution regarding a rogue werewolf that took the lives of five mundanes over the weekend. Maia swears she didn’t have any clue Morgan, a new recruit to the clan, had turned someone in the city. That someone was responsible for a  _ lot _ of attention where none of them wanted it, and with Luke no longer on the police force covering things like this up was infinitely more difficult. For everyone involved. 

“You know I've got the Clave on my ass over not turning Morgan over to the Praetor when you swore you could handle her, Maia. Your oversight is on me for giving you the benefit of the doubt.” Alec fumes. “If you can’t handle it-” 

“I can fucking handle it, Lightwood,” Maia snaps. “I’ll deal with Morgan.” 

There’s no need to deal with the person Morgan turned - Alec already ended that problem with a silver-tipped arrow through the head. 

The meeting goes on like this for quite some time, and Lorenzo can’t help but wonder if perhaps this job is hardening Alec. This isn’t the same boy who came to him with tears in his eyes, begging for a chance to help his boyfriend. There’s only what’s earned, what’s deserved. They’re here to work together but not at the cost of anyone’s safety. 

Lorenzo had his doubts about Alec as the Head of the Institute until a mission gone wrong thanks to his hot-headed brother resulted in Jace bing benched from active duty for a week. It may not have seemed like much to someone else, but Lorenzo knew the weight of that call and the discipline the follow-through required from him. 

Since then the Downworlder Cabinet meetings only served to reaffirm the fact that Alexander Lightwood was not one to be taken advantage of, intentionally or otherwise. In this setting it’s easy to believe that Alec is just like every Shadowhunter who came before him - cruel and unforgiving in carrying out his duties and upholding the laws by which all of them, Shadowhunteres and Downworlders alike, are to abide by. 

Lorenzo is brought back to the present when another argument erupts, this time between Maia and Lily. Alec’s gaze meets his from across the table with a leveled look, and Lorenzo offers a small nod of acknowledgment, a silent reassurance he’s certain the other man doesn’t need, but the flicker of a smile Alec offers in return shows it’s appreciated nonetheless. Perhaps he was wrong about Alec. Perhaps he  _ does _ have the ruthless nature needed to survive in a position like this one, and wonders idly what Magnus must think of this side of his husband. 

It isn’t until after the meeting ends and Magnus is waiting for Alec outside that Lorenzo wonders instead  _ if _ Magnus is even aware that this ruthlessly authoritative side of Alec exists, because the moment Alec’s eyes land on his husband the tension in his shoulders eases and he nearly trips over his own two feet to make his way into Magnus’ waiting arms. 

It isn’t a flip of a switch, but an almost literal melting from one moment to the next, a moment Without Magnus to a moment With Magnus. It feels impossible to imagine these two drastically different versions of Alec existing at all, let alone within seconds of one another. 

It takes a little while to process, because up until Magnus and Alec he was of the opinion that one couldn’t have it both ways. He always fought for what he wanted, tooth and nail, and couldn’t afford to be soft or show affection if he wanted people to respect him. He needed to be better, to be  _ the best _ , and that reflected even in the few relationships he allowed himself to take on. He was always the dominant one, always held rank, always called the shots. They never lasted long and he never wondered why, simply accepting that he could never move forward with the hindrance of someone else to care for. 

He thought his point was proven when Magnus, allowing those personal relationships to influence and cloud his judgment, lost his title of High Warlock of Brooklyn. But watching him now, completely at peace by Alec’s side, he wonders for the first time if perhaps status isn’t everything. And Alec, Alec only continues to rise, with rumors swirling around the Shadow World of a possible consideration for Consul in the coming months. 

Lorenzo feels like he’s invading a private moment despite the fact that it’s taking place in the very open hall of the New York Institute. He watches Alec tilt his head down ever-so-slightly to kiss his husband, watches the man usually inflexible and steeled yield so easily to the soft, guiding touch of Magnus’ hand on his arm, then his back. Alec’s brows furrow, likely recounting the meeting he just exited, and a moment later there’s a bit of azure magic and a rose appears in Magnus’ hand, held out to Alec whose expression calms once more, a smile brightening where a frown began to settle only a second before. 

Lorenzo would’ve once been a person who would think less of Alec for this obvious weakness, but instead he envies him. He envies both of them, though he’d never admit as much. 

And when a certain blond haired Head of Security rounds the corner into the hallway and flashes him a smile Lorenzo wonders if it isn’t time he allows himself a moment (or two) of weakness as well. 

**Author's Note:**

> (Find me on [Tumblr](http://bytheangell.tumblr.com) and also on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/By_The_Angell)! <3 )


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